Chapter 267: Childhood Mode · Growth Rhythm Adjustment

When Zhao Jianguo put the metal box into the cabinet, it was already daylight. He stood at the Kitchen doorway, lit a cigarette, and heard Su Qing's voice coming from inside the house.

"You three, come over for a moment."

The Triplets were gathered around the Desk watching a Tablet when Zhao Yang looked up, "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Stop looking at that stuff." Su Qing said, sitting on the sofa, clutching an old handkerchief, "I didn't sleep well last night…"

Zhao Xing set the Tablet down, pushed his Chair and slid over to her, "Did you have another nightmare?"

"It's not a dream." Su Qing looked at them, her eyes a bit red, "It's the things you said, looping in my mind over and over. 2035, Temporal Judgment, Crystal, signal… How old are you, and how do you know these?"

Zhao Chen lowered his head and touched the wheelchair's armrest, "We don't know how they came, they just appear suddenly."

"But I don't want that." Su Qing's voice lowered, "I want you to recite 'Min Nong', I want to hear you recite 'Bright Moonlight Before My Bed', I don't want you to close your eyes and say rockets will explode, cities will collapse."

Zhao Yang stood up and walked to her side, "But those images really exist, we didn't lie to you."

"I know you didn't lie to me." Su Qing hugged them, voice trembling, "But you shouldn't remember these. You should be playing in the mud, climbing trees and falling, getting scolded by me for stealing candy. Not sitting here, telling me the future will be altered."

Zhao Xing suddenly began humming a song.

The tune was light, like a nursery rhyme heard somewhere, but no one had heard these lines: "Little star, fly over the river, take me to see the old textbook."

He sang while raising his hand and drawing a slash in the air.

A few semi‑transparent little bubbles floated in the air, drifting like soap bubbles. Each bubble flashed a scene: a person in a white lab coat pointing at a Blackboard explaining a formula, a skyscraper collapsing in flames, a snowfall on an empty street.

Then, pop, pop, pop, several bubbles burst in succession.

Zhao Chen blinked, "The building diagrams just now… I remember them, but I can't recall now."

"My head feels a bit lighter." Zhao Xing rubbed his temples, "I used to dream at night of uniformed people queuing into a tunnel, now it's not that clear anymore."

Su Qing was stunned, tears suddenly welled up.

At that moment, a crisp notification sound rang out in the house.

A golden Light Screen appeared in the middle of the living room, the lettering materialized:

【Activate Childhood Protection Mode?】

【Block 70% of future memories, reduce cognitive load】

【Effective until the user reaches 12 years old】

The Triplets shouted in unison, "No!"

Zhao Yang rushed forward, reaching to grab the Light, "We can still help people! Yesterday that deaf‑mute grandfather could order by himself because we knew how to design the interface!"

"I also remember how the Olympic opening ceremony arranged the lighting!" Zhao Xing raised a hand, "If we forget, who will do it later?"

"Some things must be known by someone." Zhao Chen stared at the Light Screen, "If we all forget, what will we do when the bad guys come?"

Su Qing scooped them into her arms, "But I don't want a day when you stand before me and say, 'Mom, I'm no longer the me I used to be.'"

She looked up at the air and said, "I don't know who you are, but I beg you—let them remain children."

The Light Screen paused for a few seconds.

Zhao Xing hummed the song again, this time louder: "Moon boat, sway sway, carry away worries and omens."

Another string of bubbles emerged, more than before and in different colors—some blue, some golden. Each burst released a wisp of light, like ash blown away by the wind.

The text on the Light Screen changed:

【Spontaneous memory release detected】

【Determined as adaptive regulation response】

【Childhood Protection Mode activated】

【Effective period: immediate to twelve years old】

【Note: retains basic foresight anchors, may trigger backflow under extreme emotions】

The light vanished.

The house fell silent.

Zhao Chen slowly lifted his head, "I still remember what the bird's nest looks like, and I remember our APP that can help people, but the rest… like the scene of a robot spitting out Crystals, has become blurry."

"Me too." Zhao Yang said, "It's like a bad TV signal, flickering."

Zhao Xing lay on the coffee table, his finger dipped in water drawing a musical note on the Desk, "I feel especially smooth inside when I sing."

Su Qing wiped her face, took their hands and kissed each forehead, "We're not going to the Laboratory today, just staying home. I'll boil eggs for you, and we'll flip through picture books."

"I want to read 'Little Tadpoles Looking for Mom.'" Zhao Xing said.

"I want to draw." Zhao Chen rotated his wheelchair to the small Desk, picking up crayons.

Zhao Yang cradled the Tablet and sat on the carpet, "I'll stay right here, not moving."

Su Qing looked at them and finally smiled.

She got up and walked into the Bedroom, pulled a yellowed children's book from under the pillow; its cover showed a rabbit wearing a hat. It was her favorite book from childhood, kept until now.

She had just turned a page when she heard a "ding" outside.

The Tablet lit up.

A new message popped up:

【Community Service Center requests assistance】

【Emergency level: B】

【Content: Sudden power failure in the old city district, multiple elderly living alone lost electricity, nighttime lighting and heating affected】

【Mission objective: assist in inspecting line hazards, provide temporary power solutions】

The Triplets looked up together.

Zhao Yang opened the details, "It's the Hutong where we installed the smart lights last time."

"The Electric Wire there is severely aged," Zhao Chen brought up a map, "And the forecast predicts rain tonight, fearing short‑circuit fires."

Zhao Xing stood up, "Shall we go?"

Nobody spoke.

Su Qing stood at the bedroom door, still holding that book.

After a few seconds, she said, "Go."

"Mom?" Zhao Yang looked up.

"Go." She repeated, "Change clothes, bring the tool kit. I'll go get you some hot water and bread."

You're not stopping us?

Su Qing walked over to Zhao Chen, gently stroking her hair, and said, "I understand one thing—you're not ordinary kids, nor just kids who only dream. You have problems, but you also have solutions. I don't understand technology, but I understand you."

She bent over, slipped a fruit candy into Zhao Xing's pocket, and said, "Come back early."

The three nodded and each went to gather their things.

Zhao Yang slipped the tablet into his backpack, Zhao Chen checked the wheelchair's battery, and Zhao Xing squatted on the ground to tie his shoelaces. He suddenly stopped, coughing up a small glowing shard that landed in his palm.

Like a solidified note.

He picked it up, looked at it, said nothing, and carefully placed it in the backpack's inner compartment.

Just before leaving, Zhao Chen glanced back at her mother.

Su Qing stood in the middle of the living room, holding that old book, her face neither smiling nor crying, just quietly watching them.

"Be careful on the road," she said.

The three walked out of the courtyard.

The morning wind blew through the alley, lifting a few fallen leaves. Zhao Yang pulled open the courtyard gate's iron chain, and Zhao Xing pushed Zhao Chen's wheelchair forward slowly.

Their shadows stretched long.

When they reached the intersection, Zhao Xing suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Yang asked.

"I just... thought I heard someone calling me," Zhao Xing said, covering his ear.

"Who?"

"I don't know." He shook his head. "The sound was far away, like it came from underground."

Zhao Chen stared at the ground for a moment, then said, "Maybe it's the water pipes vibrating."

They continued forward.

Behind them, the Siheyuan's main gate swayed slightly.

In the door gap, a sign-in sheet fluttered in the wind, the bottom line faintly glowing:

【Today's sign-in reward: Calming Candy ×1 (automatically added to Zhao Xing's personal items)】